As of noon Monday, 528 people overall had gone to the seven shelters set up throughout Delaware, state officials said.

There was still plenty of room left at shelters throughout New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties, but state officials urged residents to act quickly.

"It may not be too late to go to a shelter," Delaware Public Information Officer Jason Miller said out of the Delaware Emergency Management Agency in Smyrna. "But we advise people to contact their local emergency center to make sure there was space and to discuss any necessary travel arrangements. They need to make a decision quickly as conditions are deteriorating."

The Level 2 driving restriction issued at 5 a.m. Monday by Gov. Jack Markell remained in effect until further notice, state officials said. That meant the only vehicles allowed on the road were those operated by essential government personnel and persons in the healthcare, food and fuel deliveries service, as well as members of the media.

People throughout the state were urged to call one of the following numbers, depending on their location:

New Castle County Emergency Operations Center, 395-5555

Kent County Emergency Operations Center, 735-3465

Sussex County Emergency Operations Center, 856-7366

The State of Delaware and the American Red Cross were coordinating the shelters.

The National Weather Service in Mount Holly, N.J. said the rain could be heavy at times this afternoon at Dover Air Force Base, with 1 to 2 inches falling in all. The high would be near 55 degrees with a north wind of 41 miles per hour to 44 mph, with gusts as high as 60 mph.

The rain would continue to be heavy at times on Monday night, with an additional 2 to 3 inches predicted to fall, National Weather Service meteorologists said. A southwest wind between 44 miles per hour to 50 mph, with gusts as high as 70 mph, were predicted, with a with a temperature low of around 42 degrees.

The National Weather Service had issued coastal flood warnings for Kent County, Sussex County and New Castle County, Del. as well as high wind warnings throughout the Diamond State.